Things a man should be able to do

PopMechanics has a list of 25 skills every man should have.

1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who has capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench

you get the idea.

JoeCarter At FTBlog has his own list of 50 things, which includes some touchy feeling skills:

1. Forgive your parents.

2. Ask your parents to forgive you—You know what you did. They do too.

3. Change a diaper so that the baby is cleaner and you are no dirtier than when you started.

4. Perform CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.

5. Use a soldering iron to fix a loose connection.

6. Comfort a child...

7. Cook one signature dish.

8. Calculate square footage—Width x length.

9. Innocently flirt with a woman at least twice your age...

10. Write three coherent, connected, and grammatically correct paragraphs

so I googled for stuff women should be able to do, and most of them were touchy feely things like this one and included sex tips...

• Breath enough to scream and fight back if attacked. ...

• Perform CPR.

• Say “no” convincingly.

• Drive both a stick shift and an automatic.

• Obtain birth control and use it effectively.

• Think through the possible consequences of her actions...

• Balance a checkbook.

• Sew on a button.

you get the idea.

But my favorite, and most practical, list of skills is that of Robert Heinlein:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”